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Carl Herbold enjoys being bad. After all, he is terrifyingly good at it. Stimulated by violence, he and his brother, Cecil, had easily graduated from being juvenile delinquents to full-blown killers. And when Carl, serving a life sentence in an Arkansas penitentiary, carries out a daring escape with a fellow inmate, he heads back to where he began--Blewer County, Texas--and sets in motion events taht will threaten and change lives forever.

Ann Corbett had been widowed right before her son was born. Beset by debt and personal tragedy, she faces the toughest challenge of her life--holding on to the ranch that is her son's birthright--unaware that she is at the center of Carl Herbold's vengeful plan. Ezzy Hardge is a retired lawman who is haunted by the one crime he sacrificed everything to solve, but could not. And Jack Sawyer, a seemingly easygoing cowboy and drifter whose past is shrouded in mystery, understands Herbold's twisted mind and his hate-filled lust for vengeance. Risking exposure of his own troubled past, Jack arrives at Anna Corbett's ranch asking for work, but in reality hoping to protect the innocent deaf woman and her young son from Herbold's rage.

Carl Herbold's prison break draws them inexorably toward a day of reckoning: Ezzy, an over-the-hill peace officer seeking redemption; Jack, a man stalked by dark secrets he can no longer outrun; and Anna, a beautiful woman locked in silence and self-imposed isolation. All must grapple with their own demons before their tumultuous confrontation with a diabolical killer.

Realistic, sharp-edged, and complex, Sandra Brown's Unspeakable is her best yet.

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Anna Corbett is deaf and mute, but she's not stupid. When the young widow is told by her aging father-in-law, Delray Corbett, that Jack Sawyer has been hired to work their eastern Texas ranch merely as an extra pair of hands, Anna knows that it's really the news of criminal Carl Herbold's recent prison break that has Corbett hiring the tough drifter. Carl Herbold, along with his brother Cecil, swore vengeance against Corbett, their stepfather, for cooperating with the police when the two were convicted of armed robbery. The Herbold boys were also suspected of another crime--the murder of young Patsy McCorkle--but Ezzy Hardge, then sheriff of Blewer County, Texas, never found the proof needed to go to trial. Twenty years have passed, and the McCorkle murder remains a mystery. A man obsessed, Ezzy Hardge continues to search for clues that will convict the Herbolds of the monstrous murder. Soon, Carl and his brother will take their revenge. But Anna and her 5-year-old son, David, are unaware of the degree of viciousness with which the Herbold brothers can strike. Only hired hand Jack Sawyer knows the real danger, and his growing love for Anna and David keeps him close despite the impending onslaught. Yet the longer he remains in Blewer, the more he risks revealing his past--and one particular secret that may destroy his only chance at Anna's love. In Unspeakable, Sandra Brown once again flexes her "literary muscle," providing a fast-paced, spine-tingling tale of passion, conspiracy, and stark brutality. It's a story that unfolds through the eyes of diverse, compelling characters, and culminates in a delicious ending you won't expect. --Kate Breslin
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

A 20-year-old unsolved murder in a small East Texas town sets the stage for this fast-paced and romantically charged, if stiffly written, thriller, the latest (after Fat Tuesday) from the prolific Brown. Everyone in Blewer, Tex., assumes that the nefarious Herbold brothers, Carl and Cecil, murdered Patsy McCorkle two decades ago, but neither was ever charged with the killing. Carl, the more menacing brother, has spent those decades in an Arkansas prison for an unrelated crime. But now Carl has escaped and Blewer residents fear he might come back to town. Local rancher Delray Corbett has more to fear than mostAthe Herbolds are his estranged stepsons. So when drifter Jack Sawyer swaggers onto Delray's ranch looking for work, Delray hires him, thinking that Jack's presence will ease his mind regarding the safety of his deaf, widowed daughter-in-law, Anna, and her five-year-old son, David. But Delray doesn't know that Jake has a closer connection to Blewer, and to the Corbetts, than he's letting on. Brown's deftly plotted narrative twists and turns without losing hold of its suspense. Her characters are fully fleshed out, and she pays particular attention to Anna's situation as a deaf woman facing ignorance in a rural community. Some graphic sex and violence and the voices of these east Texan good (and bad) ol' boys animate this harrowing tale of crime, revenge and redemption. Major ad/promo; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club main selections. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Top customer reviews

UNSPEAKABLE, BY Sandra Brown, is about a handsome drifter who shows up on Delray Corbett’s cattle ranch looking for work. Delray, an aging rancher who needs help with his chores reluctantly hires Jack Sawyer. Sawyer proves to be a reliable and hard worker and soon earns Delray’s confidence. Corbett is increasingly concerned for the safety of his widowed and deaf daughter-in-law, Anna, and his young grandson, David, who live with him on the ranch. Everyone in Blewer, Texas, is concerned and in fear of the expected return of a local bad guy, Carl Herbold, Corbett’s estranged stepson whom he helped convict, and who recently escaped from an Arkansas prison. Herbold, along with his ruthless prison cellmate, Myron Hutts, leaves a bloody trail of murder and mayhem across three states in their route to Blewer. Soon Jack and Anna are drawn to each other along with David who looks up to Jack as a father figure. Both are reluctant to acknowledge their feelings until a dramatic incident takes place. Unspeakable, starts slowly but kicks into high gear in the last half. It is one of Brown’s early attempts to shift from romance novels to mystery thrillers. The story is violent and bloody. Brown, as always, weaves a plot that keeps the reader on edge. She has written a successful novel that will keep you turning pages to the end. Speaking of the end, I always enjoy Brown’s endings, she leaves nothing to question. I give Unspeakable a 4-star rating. I enjoyed the book.

Unspeakable was great!! The descriptions of the settings and the development of the characters were strong. The plot was not predictable! I attempted to figure it out several times, but I was wrong. A twist at the end left me rethinking certain parts of the book looking for the foreshadowing, which I obviously missed. Overall, if you are looking for a good book which is hard to put down, then you need to read Unspeakable!

I read this book before I read the reviews, and I felt that many of them were unfair. This book has many layers of mystery, all woven together, combined with a quiet romance holding the story together. I loved it! First, who is Jack, and what has brought him to Corbett Ranch? What is his connection to the Herbold brothers? Who killed the McCorkle girl, if the brother's didn't? And why are the Herbolds so intent on getting back t ao the ranch instead of leaving the country? There are so many unanswered questions, you can't quit reading until you know all of the answers. Then, in one big ,bloody evening, everything comes together. This is a quietly romantic , sometimes violent, very engaging book that every Sandra Brown fan should read! I loved it, and wish there was a sequel. Mrs. Brown is a talented writer- none of her books are the same. Each book is an individual work, and I have been impressed by each one!

Although Unspeakable has some flaws in the plot and the author sometimes has the characters use unnecessarily rude language, the story is intriguing. Ms. Brown treats Anna's deafness as a part of her personality rather than a handicap. The villains in the story remind me of the characters in Of Mice and Men by JohnSteinbeck. Enjoyed it.

Don't think I've ever read a bad book by Sandra Brown. I look forward to each new release. She makes characters come alive and weaves a mystery with twist and turns. I particularly liked the relationship with Jack, Anna and David. There is no instant hopping into bed for her characters which I appreciate but a slow building of true intimacy.